


As The Stars Are

by helvel



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fae & Fairies, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-20 18:49:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11927028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helvel/pseuds/helvel
Summary: Fairieswas what the other realms had always called them. Gentle forest dwellers, contented in staring up at the stars as the seasons cycled past. Passive and utterly unremarkable beings. Hux is determined to change that. When his father does him a rare favor by dying, Hux seizes the funeral as an opportunity to show off everything that he and his realm are capable of. His plans are quickly thrown off course when an unexpected guest arrives. Hux really hates the Force...





	As The Stars Are

**Author's Note:**

> Please feast your eyes upon the utterly breathtaking artwork in this fic created by [@kyloknightofhux](https://kyloknightofhux.tumblr.com/)! <3

King Brendol Hux had done a single favor for his son in his lifetime, and that was to die in the autumn. The Woodland Realm had turned to rich shades of gold and orange on the day of his funeral, glowing in the sunlight beneath a clear blue sky. Armitage Hux watched the faces of the guests as they arrived. They gazed around the golden forest, as if they were seeing the Woodland in a new light for the first time. They would see so much more before they left.

Until then, Hux was expected to play the part of a mourning son.

“It’s a shame. Such a shame,” the queen of the Tidal Realm sobbed into Hux’s greatcoat, clinging to him as she arrived at the Woodland’s edge. He offered her a brisk, placating pat on the shoulder. They’d met once, a thousand years ago, and the centuries between had given Hux no reason why he should be comforting her over his own father’s death now. _Mourning son,_ he reminded himself. Pleasantries were expected of him today.

“The Woodland mourns his loss,” Hux said, stiffly. The Tidal Queen broke into a fresh round of sobs. With some effort, Hux managed to remove her hands from his lapels, and he ushered her along to join the other dignitaries from the Tidelands as they crossed the threshold into the realm.  

When their backs had disappeared around the first bend in the Monarch Path, Hux was once again alone with the Captain of the Guard.

While Hux suffered under pleasantries, Phasma saw the hundreds of arriving guests as a much different trial. All around them, guards under her command were camouflaged into the autumn colors of the leaves, invisible to those who did not know the forest as their own people did. The forest had been under their protection for as long as they had existed, but they did not often welcome guests.

Today was different. It was a rare opportunity for the other realms to see the Woodland as it was now - to see everything they had achieved.

Phasma cast a sidelong glance at Hux.

“Might be a good day to find a match for the king’s son,” she said, even as her expression remained as impenetrable as the thatched silver beetle wings of her sigil.

“Phasma, please,” Hux said, “It’s my father’s funeral.” He had much more important priorities to attend to. Like making sure that all those who entered the Woodland would know just who had led the realm to what it was now.

He’d stationed himself at the edge of the realm purposely, so he could greet guests as they stepped into the forest in awe. In the distance, the next guest had just passed over the horizon. Hux straightened himself and prepared to receive them.

Yet the thing in the distance did not appear to be approaching on land. It was moving through the air.

“What in the stars is that?” Hux asked.

Phasma had no answer. The black shape was drawing nearer, whistling through the sky like an arrow. What kind of creature moved like that? Sunlight glinted off its slick surface and Hux was sure he saw feathers. It was much too large to be any type of bird, though. Hux had never seen anything like it before.

“ _Sir,_ ” Phasma said.

The black shape seemed to draw the light from the clear blue sky, darkening the space around it as it approached the Woodland’s edge. It showed no sign of slowing down. Hux could sense the ripple of alarm that passed through the guards. Unbidden, he felt a similar sensation rising in his throat. Something like that could not be natural.

“ _Sir,_ ” Phasma repeated, raising her crossbow.

“Take it down,” Hux confirmed.

The guards fired as it came into range, but the thing easily dodged the arrows, weaving among them and resuming its path without slowing down. It was too quick, too agile to target, until Phasma fired at it.

The crossbow bolt grazed the thing, knocking it off course and sending it spiraling. It hurtled towards the ground, out of control, until it crashed through the trees into the forest.

Hux was already moving as Phasma called out orders to the guards. It did not take long to find the place where the thing had landed, some ways into the forest where the tightly spaced trees gave way to a small pond.

Fallen leaves and branches floated in the water where the thing had crashed through the tree canopy. Birds in the surrounding trees were squawking in distress at the intruder, and a disgruntled duck glared from where it bobbed on the ripples in the water. The thing itself had moved to the edge of the pond and  was attempting to untangle itself from the reeds.

Phasma and her guards flanked in around Hux, weapons raised, but Hux held up a hand to stop their fire.

Whatever it was, the thing moved much slower on the ground than it did in the air. It finally heaved itself free from the reeds and onto land, collapsing on its knees a few steps in front of Hux.

It coughed. This close, Hux could see that it was indeed covered in black feathers – not wings, but a thick cloak that was now soaked through with pond water. It was torn where the crossbow bolt had grazed its shoulder, and there was pale, ripped flesh beneath, with bright blood dripping behind it into the water.

It lifted its head, and Hux was faced with a creature not unlike himself.

 “You shot me!” the creature complained.

His long face was like none Hux had ever seen before, angular and soft at once, and framed by dark hair that hung around it like seaweed. He scowled at no one in particular. Was he a guest, here for the funeral? He hadn’t obtained clearance at the Woodland’s edge, like any sensible guest might have. Hux had no choice but to treat him as a trespasser.

“None may enter the Woodland Realm without being permitted to,” Hux told him.

“Says who?” asked the creature.

“Says-” Hux bit off that undignified response. “Those of the laws of our realm.”

The creature laughed, a low rumble like a mountain shifting. “Laws? Now I understand why your forest is dying.”

One of the guards made a high sound that Hux wished he could silence. The creature’s dark eyes moved among them, searching, until finally landing on Hux with a penetrating look.

“You’re King Armitage?” he asked.

Whatever he was or wherever he came from, he seemed to know the sigils of the Woodland people. The winged pattern of Hux’s coat was that of the royal monarch butterfly, though the title was incorrect.

“I am Armitage Hux,” Hux agreed. “The Woodland has no king at the moment.” He was quickly growing uncomfortable under the creature’s gaze. “Now state your purpose. What business do you have in the Woodlands?”

“I was invited,” the creature stated, a little petulantly. With his uninjured arm, he reached into his cloak and drew out a sodden slip of paper. Hux hesitantly stepped forward to take it from the creature’s hand.

The invitation’s text was smeared from the water, but it bore an authentic mark of the Woodland, and the recipient’s name was still readable:

_Grand Master Snoke._

Hux lifted his gaze to the creature knelt before him. The Grand Master of the Council, a being whose power transcended the divide of the realms, who held abilities beyond what most could imagine…

Was on his knees, injured and dripping with pond water, because Hux’s people had shot him.

“My sincere apologies, Grand Master Snoke,” Hux said with a bow. They needed to make amends, whatever the cost. “We did not know it was you.”

“Oh, I’m not Sn-”

Grand Master Snoke paused suddenly. The strangest light glowed in his eyes, and his expression settled into a lopsided smile.

“I’m not affected by such small things,” the Grand Master finished, “And please, call me Kylo.”

Kylo lifted a hand to his bleeding shoulder. Blood was a rare sight, as Hux’s people were not easily injured, but more unusual was the sight of Kylo’s skin knitting itself back together before Hux’s very eyes. His tunic followed, reweaving itself where it was torn, and then new feathers sprouted from his cloak. It began to smoke. A second later, Hux realized it was actually steam rising off the cloak, as the pond water evaporated from Kylo’s clothing. His hair lifted from limp, dripping tendrils into soft curls around his face. Looking at him now, dry an injured, there was perhaps something pleasant about the way his mismatched features fit together.

At last, Kylo glanced up to meet Hux’s gaze.

“Is the Force so fascinating to you?” he asked.

_The Force..._ Hux had not realized how raptly he was watching. He drew back and straightened his back, composing himself into a manner more suitable to speak with the Grand Master.

“I will escort Grand Master Kylo to the city,” he called to Phasma. He ignored the knowing look Phasma cast over her shoulder as she departed with her guards, and turned to Kylo to offer a hand to help him to his feet. “Come, this way to the path.”

Kylo studied Hux for a moment. There was something uncomfortable in it, but Hux did not allow himself to look away as Kylo placed his hand in Hux’s.

The sudden ripple of energy made Hux jolt. In the blink of an eye, the forest vanished. Darkness surrounded them, cut through with swirling trails of light. Hux gasped at the sensation of nothing around him, like he was floating, no touch but Kylo’s hand in his own as Kylo still kneeled before him.

Kylo stood out starkly against the darkness, bright and yet so much darker than everything around them. His eyes were fixed on Hux’s face with blazing intensity.

“Do you feel the Force, Armitage?” Kylo asked.

“ _Stars!_ What is this?” Hux gasped, “Where are we?”

“Do you feel it?” Kylo repeated.

In his shock, Hux did not realize how tightly he was grasping Kylo’s hand. He yanked his hand free.

At once the darkness vanished and the forest returned around them. Kylo was still kneeled before Hux, looking up at him with a rather smug grin like he was waiting for Hux’s approval.

“That... that is an impressive ability,” Hux said. He refrained from adding _don’t do it again._ As fascinating as he found the Force, the vision and its strange sensations had shaken him. Why had Kylo done it? What had he been trying to show Hux?

His trepidation was quickly settled when he noticed Kylo’s expression. He looked more smug than ever as he got to his feet, unbearably pleased with himself. Had he been trying to impress Hux, then?

“Follow me to the path,” Hux said, turning to hide his smile.

As Kylo’s footsteps crunched through the leaves behind him, Hux was quickly considering his plans for the day. The invitation sent to the Grand Master had been courtesy only; Hux had not expected the Grand Master himself to arrive in the Woodlands. Now, he would not allow this opportunity to slip by. He’d hoped to impress upon the visiting guests everything that the Woodland was capable of, but for the Grand Master to know the Woodland’s capabilities was for all corners of the realms to know it as well.

Hux led them along until the thick cover of trees and foliage broke away into a cleared path. Tree branches were braided together above them into a canopy. The golden leaves that had fallen from the trees decorated the path that countless guests would follow on their way towards the city for the funeral ceremony today.

Hux’s own people rarely used the path, able to move through the forest easily without need for a cleared space, but Hux had been imagining a visitor of exactly Kylo’s standing when he designed it. He fell into step beside Kylo, watching his face to judge his reaction.

He could tell the exact moment that Kylo realized that golden leaves were not the only thing fluttering in the trees. Brilliant orange butterflies were everywhere amongst them, flitting from tree to tree like the forest itself was moving.  

“This is the Monarch Path,” Hux said, “It’s built along the migration path of the monarch butterfly.” Hux adjusted the collar of his coat, with its winged monarch pattern that Kylo had recognized him by only moments ago. “The butterfly is the royal sigil, as you know.”

“Is it?” Kylo asked, watching a butterfly flutter from once side of the path to the other.

Hux’s steps faltered for a moment. “Ah- Yes.” Surely Kylo knew that?

Kylo gave a half-interested hum, but Hux did not allow himself to feel any disappointment at the lukewarm reaction. It was always said that Force users were absorbed in their magic with little interest in anything else. Yet once Kylo understood, Hux was sure that even he would be impressed.

Extending a hand up towards the tree branches, Hux let one of the butterflies settle on his gloved finger. He held it out for Kylo to see its bright, delicate wings.

“The monarch’s population in the Woodland is carefully managed. As are the populations of all the creatures and plants. The forest is one entity, you see. Everything here serves one purpose. My people are part of that purpose, and with our guidance understand that, and ensure that the forest is in the ideal order to thrive.”

Kylo watched the fluttering wings of the butterfly held before him. This close, Hux could now see that the dappled patches of sunlight turned Kylo’s dark eyes to a soft, rich brown like maple sap. His gaze flitted up to meet Hux’s own.

“I didn’t expect something like this from you Woodland fairies,” he said.

Hux’s lip twitched, but otherwise he made no response to that rude remark. _Fairies._ It was unfortunate that Hux knew just what Kylo meant. The other realms thought of Hux’s people as no more than gentle forest dwellers, contented in staring up at the stars as the seasons cycled past. Passive, and utterly unremarkable.

Today, the other realms would see that the people of the Woodland were not merely fairies. For as rude as Kylo’s remark was, it told Hux that Kylo could already see more in the Woodland than those pitiful expectations. They had changed. Like the butterfly that fluttered up from Hux’s hand into the trees, Hux’s people had grown from the meek stargazers that only watched as the seasons changed, and everyone would see that today.

“It was my initiative that brought us to this,” Hux continued, more determined than ever. “I led my people as we sought out the ideal order that makes the forest thrive. It’s beyond the peak of perfection. No other realm is capable of something like this. The power of the forest is not like that of a roaring tide or a whirling whirlwind, but _true_ strength. Strength that grows and endures.”

“I can sense it,” Kylo agreed. His face tipped upwards as he breathed in the cool, crisp air, and the energy of the forest around them. The air rippled with the power of it.

Yet when Kylo opened his eyes, he looked as disinterested as ever.

“Too bad that everything here is dying,” he said.

This time, Hux was unable to keep the sneer of annoyance from his face. “Nothing is _dying,_ ” he told Kylo. “This is autumn. The forest will remain dormant until spring.”

Kylo reached for a low branch as they passed and broke it from the tree. It gave a hollow snap, dry and dead inside. He held it out for Hux to see.

“This isn’t dormancy,” Kylo said.

The sight of the dried-out branch sent an uncomfortable prickling sensation up Hux’s spine, yet his immediate reaction was to snatch the broken branch from Kylo’s hand.

“ _Stop that!_ ” he snapped, fuming at Kylo’s rude behavior. “What’s wrong with you? You cannot just destroy my forest as you please! I won’t stand for it. This is _not_ how a Grand Master should act.”

A long beat of silence passed before Hux realized what he’d said, and who he said it to. One of the most powerful beings in existence, and Hux had just scolded him like a child.

“I owe you an apology, Grand Master,” Hux began. It was not like him to lose his temper. His mind was racing with how he might undo the damage he’d just caused. “I spoke out of line.”

The feathered cloak added breadth to Kylo’s frame, making his drawn-up shoulders even more pronounced as he scowled at the ground.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“Ah- excuse me?”

Kylo did not repeat the word, but Hux had heard it clearly. Hux blinked in shock. Had the Grand Master of the Council really just apologized to Hux? A heady rush washed over him to know that such a powerful being had put himself in deference - like Hux, despite the lack of any formal title to his name, was an equal to him.

“There’s no need to apologize,” Hux said, feeling suddenly more amicable. Kylo’s shoulders drew up higher, but he looked relieved and fell into step beside Hux again.

“Thanks, Armitage,” he said.

Hux grit his teeth. His instinct was to scold Kylo for being insolent, but Kylo already looked like a wounded animal, so Hux held back the harsh words.

“Stop calling me Armitage,” he said.

Kylo looked at him curiously. “It’s your name, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Hux agreed, “Please call me Hux.”

Kylo’s expression passed from curiosity into amusement. “You hold your father’s name, but his title as king did not come to you?”

The moment of fondness that Hux had developed for Kylo was quickly evaporating. The Grand Master seemed to have a knack for finding sore spots and poking at them.

“I’m not… my mother wasn’t…” Hux wondered how best to explain their laws as to why he had not inherited Brendol’s title. “There is a matter of legitimacy,” he said finally.

That damned amused expression on Kylo’s face grew even more pronounced. “Why do you create so many laws?” he asked.

“We must, to maintain order in our realm.”

“The Force needs order and chaos both.”

The Force, again. Was it here, even in the Woodland Realm? Kylo’s eyes moved through the trees around him with his strange piercing gaze. Hux wondered if he could see it, if Kylo’s apparent mastery of the Force allowed him to see its physical presence. Hux considered asking. The Force fascinated him, but the purpose of speaking to the Grand Master today was not to sate his own curiosity.

Hux sighed, glancing over at Kylo as they walked. Kylo had attempted to impress Hux with the vision, and succeeded. Hux had attempted to impress Kylo with everything he’d achieved in the Woodland, yet the only thing Kylo had shown any interest in was the intangible power of the forest. That was something better felt than explained.

“This path will lead you the rest of the way to the city,” Hux said, slowing his steps. He could not waste his efforts with Kylo, not on a day like today. He needed to get back to the other guests.

A few feet ahead, Kylo stopped abruptly and turned around to face Hux.

“Aren’t you coming with me?” he asked.

“The city is only a short way ahead,” Hux said. Already the trees around them were becoming taller as they drew nearer to the center of the forest, the braided tree canopy stretching higher and higher above them. The city would come into sight around the next bend in the Monarch Path, built into trees that were large enough that the arches of their roots became part of the canopy.

Kylo’s face crumpled into a scowl that was perhaps more like a pout. “Why can’t I stay with you?”

Hux’s lip twitched upwards. He nearly agreed to the request, eager to see the look on Kylo’s face as he attempted to impress Hux once more. Yet Brendol would be rolling in his funeral dressings if he knew that Hux had squandered this rare chance to demonstrate the power of their realm, all because of a pathetic pout and pretty brown eyes.

“I have many matters to attend to today,” Hux told Kylo. It seemed unfitting to part ways so informally, so Hux held out his hand for Kylo to shake.

Kylo gazed at the outstretched hand for a moment. Then he pressed their palms together.

Hux again felt the surge of energy around them. He jolted as the forest blinked into darkness, leaving he and Kylo alone in a world of nothing but swirling light around them.

“You feel it, don’t you?” Kylo asked.

Hux’s eyes caught on the lights around them. What was he meant to feel? The Force? Is that what the lights where? Hux shivered as he watched them swirl, like the energy of a star might.

He couldn’t feel anything but Kylo’s hand in his own. He gripped it tighter, transfixed by the way Kylo blazed in the void, blotting out the darkness. His eyes pierced through it, and Hux understood why it unsettled him so deeply. Kylo saw beyond the living realm, beyond whatever this place was. It felt as if he was looking at Hux’s very soul.

Hux yanked his hand back, plunging them back into the forest with Kylo before him on the path.

Few things in the forest were truly black. Birds, bats, beetles, they all held some warmth in their tone that separated them from darkness. None of them blotted out the forest quite like Kylo did. It was unmistakable that the creature before Hux was like nothing he’d encountered before. Despite having the same set of features, even Kylo’s face was unlike any Hux had seen before. There was something pleasant about the way his mismatched feature fit together. It held a strange, fascinating harmony, just like his powers did – order and chaos both, he’d said.

Hand still outstretched, Hux’s fingers twitched. He wanted to see more. He wanted to understand what Kylo meant, when he asked if Hux felt it too.

Hux allowed his arm to fall back to his side, knowing that duty beckoned.

“I will see you at the ceremony,” Hux said. With a last glance at Kylo’s scowling pout, Hux turned to leave him on the path.

When Kylo was surely out of sight behind him, Hux stepped off the path into the forest. He would have met with many other guests along the Monarch Path, as was his intention for this day, but he needed a moment within the forest to compose himself first.

There was nothing like the scent of the forest in autumn. The cool air was rich with earth and decay as the forest settled into slumber for the winter. The streams were growing colder, chilling Hux’s feet through his boots as he moved through them.

Hux breathed deeply, taking in the intangible connection that lingered just outside the perception of his senses. It was that connection that had allowed he and his people to achieve everything they had in the forest, this level of balance and order. He glanced up at the gaberworm nests in the trees as he passed, empty now as they awaited the spring hatchlings. This year a blight had nearly decimated them, and would have, if not for the intervention of Hux’s people. Their efforts had ensured that the gaberworm population was maintained as it should be, as the forest needed so it could thrive.

This was where his focus was meant to lie today, these achievements. Even with an immortal lifetime before him, Hux could not overlook the importance of this single day.

A fox and her kits loped by ahead of him, sparing him a brief glance before continuing on their way. Twice during his brief time with Kylo, Kylo had said the forest was dying. The hollow snap of the branch that Kylo had broken from a tree still echoed in Hux’s ears. Yet how could the forest be dying? Hux watched as the fox kits’ bushy tails disappeared behind a rocky outcropping. They were nearly grown and ready to face the winter, the same way they had every autumn for millennia.

Kylo said many peculiar things, Hux decided. He thought of the strange visions of nothingness Kylo had shown him, asking if Hux felt it. Hux flexed his fingers, recalling the feeling of Kylo’s hand in his own.

A black shape appeared in the corner of his eye. Startled, Hux turned towards it. He found only a crow, watching him from a low perch amongst the branches. Hux let out a huff. Of course. He could not let himself get distracted with thoughts of Kylo. He had duties to attend to.

He found Phasma at her post at the edge of the realm, carefully monitoring the trickle of guests as they arrived in the Woodland. She glanced at Hux as he returned to her side, one eyebrow raised.

“Back so soon, alone?” she asked.

There was no one near enough to overhear them, but still Hux made no response. Phasma held back any further comments, but her point was plain enough.

Hux may not have inherited his father’s title, but he’d always held himself to standards of propriety that were suitable for a king’s son. Few opportunities had presented themselves, and even then Hux had never been particularly concerned with the pursuit of any connection beyond that which he felt with the forest.

Yet his thoughts strayed to Kylo again. Despite his inappropriate behavior, the Grand Master was most certainly what Phasma would call _a good match._ Too good, in fact. That was most certainly why Hux had craved Kylo’s efforts to impress him. Kylo looked at him like someone worth impressing, and Hux had almost  allowed himself to get carried away in it.

Hux sighed. His place was here, where he could present himself to the arriving guests to ensure they knew that it was not merely the turn of the seasons that brought the forest to this strength. That was what this day was meant for.

He would see Kylo again, anyway, at the ceremony. Then, perhaps, in another thousand years or so. Was Kylo mortal? Where did he come from? Hux didn’t know anything about him, really, and he couldn’t dwell on it now.

A black shape appeared in the corner of his eye again. Hux blinked to clear it. It did not go away.

* * *

When the sun began its descent, Hux left the edge of the realm to join the preparations for the funeral ceremony. He avoided the city, knowing it would be bustling with guests who would crowd around to express their condolences. He followed a long, winding route through the trees that brought him to the heart of the forest.

A funeral pyre had been built in the center of it from branches collected from the forest floor. Brendol’s body would be laid upon the pyre when the ceremony began. The ashes would become one with the forest again, while the smoke would rise into the stars to join the souls of the living that still remained in the realm.

Hux turned his face upwards at the twilight sky. Only a few stars had appeared so far, but instead of watching them, he watched the black shape that was hovering at the edge of his vision again. It was more tangible now that darkness was falling, almost corporeal.

Hux kept his eyes on the sky as he let the shape linger in his sight.

“ _Kylo,_ ” he called.

The shape remained motionless. Hux sighed. At least only the trees in the heart of the forest had borne witness to that pathetic hope, that the persistent spot in his vision was, for some reason, the Grand Master of the Council trailing after Hux all day like a shadow.

Then the shape moved. Hux turned towards it as it drew nearer, watching Kylo come into sight.

Just as ever, Kylo seemed unnaturally dark even in the fading light. His face was the only light place that stood out, and the expression of attempted innocence did not suit him.

“Yes?” he asked, as if it were perfectly normal to creep out of the darkness when called for.

“Were you following me?” Hux asked.

Kylo shrugged. Hux raised an eyebrow. In search of a distraction, Kylo turned to the trees and laid a hand on one of the thick, twisted trunks, looking up into its branches.

“These trees hold great power,” he said.

That was true, at least. One did not need Force abilities like Kylo’s to be able to sense that. Hux allowed him a half smile.

“This place is called the heart of the forest,” Hux explained. “These trees are as old as the realm itself.” They seemed small compared to the other trees around them, shrunken and wizened with age, and steeped in the energy that gave that life to the forest and creatures here. “They are strong - stronger than anything in the realm. They will not burn, even if the fire from the pyre touches them.”

Kylo nodded as he ran his fingers over the flaking bark of one of the trees, examining it with that far-off gaze that made Hux believe he was looking at more than what was before him.

“Yes,” he said. “They will not burn when the pyre does.” He glanced up, meeting Hux’s eye. “How did your father die?”

Hux wondered that himself. “I don’t know,” he said, truthfully. “He withered. The life drained out of him until there was nothing left.” Hux had no words to explain it. His people rarely passed, and they did not just wither and die. Yet that was just what had happened to Brendol.

Kylo had taken a few steps nearer, not close enough to touch, but enough that Hux could see the soft brown of his eyes.

“You should be king,” Kylo said.

Hux’s mouth twitched into a small smile. “You need not flatter me,” he said.

“It’s true. Don’t you feel it?”

Heat crept up Hux’s neck at those words. Was that what Kylo meant? That some unseen force meant for Hux to rule? A part of Hux believed it was true. He’d been born a bastard, but when he led, his people followed. The forest was brought to order under his command.

Yet laws had to be obeyed, if order was to be kept. Hux let himself get carried away with Kylo’s flattery too easily. He turned back to the funeral pyre. A fluttering amongst the stacked branches caught his eye. A butterfly rested there among the wood. It would need to be on its way before nightfall, when the pyre would be lit. Hux reached for it.

At a sharp burst of pain, Hux drew back, looking at his palm. A sliver from the pyre had sliced his skin where the glove slid up. A droplet of blood welled up from the cut. Hux could hardly see it for how badly his hand had begun to shake.

Kylo drew nearer, glancing at the cut.

“Oh,” he said. _Oh._ As simple as that.

“What do you mean, _oh?_ ” Hux snapped. Hux could not look away, watching the slow trickle of lifeblood slide down his palm. He’d not seen his own blood in centuries. His people were immortal. It took a great deal of force to cause any injury, and a cut from an errant branch did not happen. It did not. Yet it had.

What was happening to him? What was happening at all? The trees were dying, dry and dead inside, and he was standing before his father’s funeral pyre. Hux couldn’t fathom any of it and his hand shook harder.

Kylo reached for Hux’s wrist. In his moment of shock, Hux did not have the facility to draw away. He squeezed his eyes shut, but no vision of darkness came at Kylo’s touch. His hand wrapped around Hux’s wrist, turning the palm upwards in his own, and his free hand moved over the space above it.

Hux felt an invisible touch on his palm, neither cool nor warm, simply there. The broken skin sealed back together, and the small red mark faded until Hux’s palm was as it had always been.

“ _There,_ ” Kylo said, releasing Hux’s wrist as if it had been nothing.

Hux stared at the place where the cut vanished from. He’d seen Kylo do the same to his own wound, earlier, when Kylo’s shoulder had been torn by the crossbow bolt. The lack of reaction to an impossible injury settled Hux’s nerves a bit.

“This is what happens when the Force leaves a realm,” Kylo explained. “The powers here are fading. It cannot survive like this. Even these trees are dying.”

“These trees are _not_ dying,” Hux protested.

Kylo nodded. “What else can they do? The Force needs order and chaos both, and you’re smothering it with these attempts at bringing order to the forest.”

Seconds ago, Hux had thought himself indebted to Kylo’s abilities. Now he sneered, wondering if he should have allowed himself to take so much interest in someone who insisted on being so contrary. Likely, no one had ever told the Grand Master of the Council that the Force did not control _everything._

“The Force _is_ in everything,” Kylo insisted.

“I understand the powers at work in my own realm better than- _wait._ ” Hux paused, considering what Kylo was responding to. Hux hadn’t said anything aloud. “... Are you reading my thoughts?”

Even in the half-light of dusk, a distinct flush could be seen creeping to Kylo’s cheeks.

“I...” Kylo started. He swallowed, and cast around for some distraction again, before finally saying, “Your thoughts are very loud.”

“Well stop it!” Hux told him as his own face heated up. It was intrusive for Kylo to plunder his thoughts, but worse was that Hux was sure that Kylo must had read Hux’s fascinations towards him. He was growing more annoyed with Kylo by the second. “Don’t you have any manners at all?”

One half of Kylo’s mouth quirked up into a crooked smile. “Surely you know the answer to that.”

Hux struggled to keep his expression flat and stern. Knowing that Kylo was listening in on his thoughts, he let his amusement show, a small smile coming to his face.

Bold beyond his station, Hux reached out to grab a handful of Kylo’s feathered cloak and draw him nearer.

“You are the most poorly behaved Grand Master that ever was, and I ought to teach you a lesson,” he said.

Kylo’s grin grew even more crooked. “Why don’t you, then?”

* * *

The flames climbed up the pyre, jumping from branch to branch until the caught on Brendol’s funeral dressings. Sparks drifted up into the sky like torch bugs, lifted higher and higher towards the empty space in the sky where Brendol’s star had once been. Fire consumed the body, erasing all traces of the man who was no longer king of the Woodland Realm.

Hux stood amongst his own people and the guests from the other realms. He could hear weeping, but he couldn’t summon any such emotion himself. Brendol had never inspired much fondness, and Hux’s thoughts were elsewhere. Through the rising flames, Hux could see Kylo amongst the other guests.

As the pyre crumbled, the flames died lower until only embers remained. The crowd parted, some joining the procession to the city while others lingered around what was left of the pyre.

Hux dreaded this part. He knew that streams of guests would immediately begin cornering him to express their condolences. _Mourning son,_ he reminded himself. He still flinched when the Duke of Eastmount laid a broad hand on his shoulder.

“My sympathies about your father,” the duke said, his thick eyebrows drawn up in concern. “Is it true that the Woodland Realm is without a king now?”

“Thank you,” Hux responded, distracted. He’d caught sight of a black shape lurking at the edge of his vision again.

With some difficulty, Hux drew away from the crowd. He found Kylo in the secluded space at the edge of the heart of the forest, waiting.

The embers of the funeral pyre were the only remaining light, and Kylo was cast almost entirely in darkness. His pale skin was the only place that caught the light. As Hux looked up at him, he thought for a moment how the freckles dotted across Kylo’s face were like constellations in the night sky.

“How poetic,” Kylo said, smirking at that thought. “Your people hold a great reverence for the stars. No… it’s more than that, isn’t it?” Kylo turned his face upwards towards the night sky.

“The stars are the souls of my people,” Hux said.

For a second, Kylo’s gaze flicked down to Hux, judging if that was truth or poetry. He smiled. “Which one is your star, then?”

“I don’t know,” Hux answered. He’d looked up at the night sky countless times through the centuries, wondering which light was his very soul, but it was impossible to know. Even Brendol’s star hadn’t been known until it disappeared with his death. Strange as it was, it was somehow pleasant to think that Kylo looked up at the stars of the Woodland Realm and did not notice an empty space among the constellations.

“I can see which star is yours,” Kylo said, face still tilted upwards.

Hux’s mouth twitched. He immediately forced his face back into a more suitable expression. He couldn’t smile, his father’s funeral pyre was still smoldering. He was certain, however, that Kylo could read his amusement. The ridiculous and impossible things that Kylo said almost bordered on charming sometimes. Hux would like more of it.

“Kylo, I would like to ask you something,” Hux said.

Even at the edge of the heart of the forest, the other guests were still near enough to overhear them. Hux beckoned for Kylo to join him amongst the trees, where they could speak privately. Kylo followed, watching Hux curiously as he waited for him to go on.

Hux cleared his throat. “I know that as the Grand Master, you have many duties to attend to,” he began. “But. If you are able to, I would like for you to stay here, in the Woodland Realm. With me. For as long as you’re able to.”

It was a bold request, but Hux was never one to hesitate once he’d made up his mind. Their short time together was enough to assure Hux that he wanted it to go on. He looked up at Kylo, awaiting his response.

“ _Ben!_ ”

Hux wrinkled his nose, but turned to their interrupter. A knight of the Dunelands was drawing near. Her smile would have made Hux assume that she was a familiar friend of Kylo’s, if not for the sour expression on Kylo’s face.

“Go away, Rey,” Kylo hissed, pressing her backwards and away from them. She moved forward again the moment his hand dropped from her shoulder.

“Can’t we talk for a while?” the knight asked.

Her manners were even worse than Kylo’s. Hux stepped between her and Kylo, casting a dismissive look at her. “If you’ll excuse us, I have some business to attend to with the Grand Master,” he said.

“Is he here?” the knight asked.

“ _Go away,_ ” Kylo repeated.

“But I haven’t seen you in ages! How is your training going? I want to hear all about it!”

Kylo cast a pleading glance at Hux, before stepping around him and exchanging a few whispered words with the knight. Understanding dawned on her face, and she nodded, finally departing to leave the two of them alone.

Kylo turned back to Hux with his crooked, charming grin, only to find Hux staring at him with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Explain that, please,” Hux said.

“Ah- Rey is an old friend, my cousin perhaps-”

“Why did she wonder where the Grand Master was?”

“Oh. That’s because I. Might. Not be…” Kylo searched for the right words. He looked up into the treetops, as if he might find them there. “I might not be the Grand Master?”

Hux’s expression flattened, and Kylo rushed to explain.

“I’m his apprentice, though!” he said, “Master Snoke sent me here, personally. On his behalf. As his designate.”

“Meaning that you are _not_  the Grand Master of the Council.”

Kylo’s crooked grin had lost much of its charm.

Hux pinched the bridge of his nose, recalling the events of the day. Today had been meant to showcase the Woodland Realm at its most powerful, and instead Hux had spent much of it in distraction over this creature, all because Hux had allowed himself to be swept away by the delusion that he was dealing with the Grand Master. Instead, he’d nearly offered an invitation to stay in the Woodland, to an _apprentice._ Somehow, Hux didn’t think his father would be surprised that he’d made such a foolish mistake.

“I can explain!” Kylo said.

“Go on, then.”

Kylo did not seem to expect for Hux to agree to that, and his mouth gaped open for a long moment. “Well, when you thought I was the Grand Master, I just… it sounded so nice to be called that.”

“ _Nice,_ ” Hux repeated in disbelief.

Kylo nodded. “Nice, to have you look at me like I was someone that powerful.”

That hit a mark, and it stung, far worse than the sliver that had cut Hux’s skin in this very place. It was the same reason why Hux had gotten so caught up in Kylo today, wasn’t it? Why he’d so easily believed everything that Kylo said? Kylo looked at him, and he felt powerful – like he was someone important, someone worthy of impressing – and it felt _nice._

“Leave,” Hux muttered. “Just- leave this realm.”

“Hux!” Kylo pleaded.

Hux didn’t listen. He turned away to press back towards the crowds, fighting the flush of shame that he could feel heat creeping up his neck as he struggled to get away from Kylo. This time, his pride would not allow him to look back.

* * *

Hux moved through the city without stopping for anyone to speak to him as he passed. The palace was nearly empty when he arrived, and he climbed the dark, winding bridges until he reached his own quarters.

There, he paced across the room to the window, and then to the door again in an attempt to rid himself of the trembling energy that coursed through his veins.

It didn’t work. He returned to the window and opened it to look out over the dark treetops. The cold air did little to calm his nerves. He could just barely hear the sound of the guests in the distance, drown out by the sound of leaves rustling in the night breeze. He needed something to distract himself.

The pile of letters on his desk caught his eye. They had been sent by those invited guests who were unable to attend the funeral and sent their condolences by letter instead. How Hux wished that Grand Master Snoke had sent such a letter, instead of sending his apprentice in his place.

Hux couldn’t dwell on that now, though. He lit a lantern and sat at the desk, picking up the stack to bring them into the light. Responding to them was yet another gesture of pleasantry that Hux didn’t care for, but at least it would give him something to do.

Long minutes passed as Hux’s eyes moved over the pages without reading until his vision blurred over. He blinked to clear it. This time, there was no black shape lingering at the edge.

Hux sighed. He let the letters fall to the desk as he turned back to the window again. The rustling treetops were in darkness with the dim stars as the only light. He could see nothing else in the sky, by he was sure that Kylo would be gone from the realm by now, leaving the same way he arrived as he soared over the trees without looking back.

It was for the best. At least Hux wouldn’t be able to make any more of a fool of himself by chasing after Kylo now.

Hux pressed his fingers to his temples to fend off the growing throb of a headache. He could reasonably place the blame on Kylo for causing it with everything he’d done today. Worse than the pain, Hux thought, was knowing that his anger at being lied to had done little to dull his fascination with Kylo. Kylo truly was unlike any being who he’d met before, and perhaps who he’d ever meet again. But Hux still had his pride. If nothing else, at least that remained intact. Was it pride that made the aching pang settle in his chest?

He forced the thought from his mind. Searching for a distraction again, he returned to the letters. He blinked each time the words blurred over, but when he’d read D _ear Armitage Hux_ over a dozen times, blinking no longer cleared his vision.

A black shape remained at the edge.  

Hux pressed his eyes shut for several seconds to let his tired eyes focus again. He opened them, and found that the black spot remained.

“I told you to leave,” Hux said.

A long moment passed before Kylo stepped out of the shadows at the edge of the room. Hux narrowed his eyes. “What do you want?” he asked. Conscious that Kylo could read every thought that passed through his mind, Hux pushed down the surge in his chest at knowing that Kylo was still in the realm.

“Do you feel it?” Kylo asked.

Hux sighed, exhausted. “Feel _what?_ Tell me what you mean by that before I call the guards.”

“That you are drawn to me,” Kylo said, as if that explained anything. He loomed closer. Hux stiffened in his chair, ready to move away from Kylo if needed.

Still, he startled when Kylo reached for his hand. He jerked his arm away, elbow catching on the edge of the lantern toknocked it from the desk. Hux caught it before it could hit the floor and shatter, hissing at the searing pain. He managed to right the lantern before yanking his hand back to cradle to his chest.

Slowly, he tugged the glove up to examine it. He found an angry red welt where his palm had touched the searing heat of the lantern.

His hand trembled as he stared at the burn. He could not believe what he was seeing, what he was feeling. Only hours ago, a sliver of wood had sliced him in the same place. Now he had another impossible injury that he should not have been able to have.

“What’s wrong with me?” he whispered, not sure if he was asking Kylo or himself.

Kylo drew near again, and Hux was too caught up in shock to pull away as Kylo reached for him. No inexplicable vision of nothingness happened when Kylo took hold of his hand. Kylo drew Hux’s hand towards himself, and moved his hand over Hux’s own. Hux watched as the invisible touch ghosted across his palm. The flesh healed and the marked faded, until his hand was as he’d always known it.

With his hand still held by Kylo, Hux’s trembling had stopped. Something about having Kylo so near placated Hux and left him less shaken than he should be by this. If he only leaned forward against Kylo’s chest, the both of them would be enveloped beneath Kylo’s feathered cloak, and they could remain there in the warm darkness, safe.

Hux found himself doing just that. He leaned into Kylo, letting his cheek rest against Kylo’s tunic. The scent of him was like the crackling air before lightning struck. In an immortal lifetime within the forest, Hux had never encountered anything that called to him like Kylo did.

“This will continue,” Kylo said. He still held Hux’s hand in his own, and he ran a finger over the place where the wound had been healed. His touch was warmer than expected on bare skin. “You are bound to the same fate as your father.”

Hux hoped Kylo could feel his brief twinge of annoyance. “You’re meant to say something romantic right now,” he said.

A sound that may have been a laugh huffed forth from Kylo, reverberating from his chest against Hux’s cheek. Kylo lifted Hux’s hand to his face until it was near enough that he could pressed a kiss to the bared palm. Hux hid his smile against Kylo’s chest, before turning his head up to face Kylo.

“Can you heal me of whatever is causing this?” he asked.

Kylo’s expression softened. “It’s more simple than that,” he said. “Don’t you feel it?”

“Feel _what?_ ”

“I will show you.”

Kylo tugged Hux to his feet, and turned his hand to entwine their fingers. Hux found himself transfixed by the sight of it. He watched their joined hands even as Kylo led him across the room, only pulled out of the daze when Kylo stepped up onto the open window ledge.

“What are you doing?” Hux ask, drawing back.

For an infinite moment, Kylo stood silhouetted against the night sky, staring out at the stars. Then he glanced over his shoulder at Hux and smiled.

Hux made some sound, some cry or shout as he was yanked forward and his feet left the ground. He closed his eyes, expecting to plummet to the forest floor, but instead Kylo was pulling him upwards into the sky.

Hux could not have let go of Kylo’s hand even if he wanted to. Cold night air whooshed past them as they flew higher and higher. The dark forest faded from sight. The stars grew larger, until at last, Hux and Kylo were among them.

_Among them._

Again, Hux made a sound he could not be sure of as the bright swirls of light and bursting clouds of particulate matter whirled before his eyes. They undulated in constant motion, with no definable shape, their brilliant colours glittering in the darkness.

“You said the stars are the souls of your people,” Kylo said.

There were hundreds of them, far beyond where Hux could perceive. He was certain that his mouth was gaping open as he watched them move.  Was this another one of the visions that Kylo had shown him? It did not feel like the others. Kylo’s hand was still clasped in his own, and Kylo stood out in blazing darkness as he did in the visions before, but they were not in that void of nothingness now. Energy sparked all around them and the stars roared. Their swirling masses radiated a cold heat that gusted over Hux like standing in a whirlwind.

Hux had never considered what the stars might look like this close, what the souls of his people were made of. Now, his breath caught in his chest as he watched them move. Yet watching the swirling clusters of energy, Hux could not help but think that their movements seemed sluggish, like some invisible force held them back.

“They are fading,” Kylo explained as he and Hux glided between the masses of slow swirls and weak bursts. His face was as serious as Hux had ever seen it. It did not hold any trace of the smug grins or scowling pouts that had appeared so often there, even in the short time that Hux had known him. “Fading, as the Force leaves the Woodland Realm. And it _will_ leave. It needs balance - order and chaos both - and it cannot remain, when your laws and control of the forest only allow order in this realm. The stars will fade, the forest will die, and your people...”

They came to a stop in a place where the light from the other stars had all but faded. Hux had thought the movements of the stars were sluggish, but it was nothing compared to the dark, dead clump of dust before him. It swirled weakly in the energy given off from the other stars, but there was no life to it, no force within. Somehow, Hux knew that this had been his father’s star, extinguished with this death.

The soul of an immortal being - now, nothing but dust.

Hux felt like he’d been plunged into ice. Was this what Kylo had meant, about the Force leaving the forest? Hux wanted to believe that he was dreaming, that none of this was real, but he knew it could not be the case now.

“This can’t be,” he whispered. His people had done so much in the forest. Hux had seen how it thrived under their stewardship and care, ensuring that every need was met, every imbalance was righted. They _knew_ what the forest needed, they could feel it. Yet if Kylo could be believed, some invisible Force beyond their understanding gave the forest life as well. Now, without it, would Hux really die? Would the entire realm die?

“No,” Kylo said. “There is hope.”

Hux could not even bring himself to scold Kylo for reading his thoughts. Kylo pulled them along again, away from the space where Brendol’s star had been, back among those of the living.

Billowing swirls passed them by, but the energy was changing to something thrilling and familiar. It was the strangest sensation Hux had ever felt, as if he was seeing something he’d known his whole life for the first time. He closed his eyes and let it wash over him.

They slowed, until Kylo brought them to a stop. Hux opened his eyes to take in the sight before him.

“This is your star,” Kylo said, but he did not need to say it. Hux knew.

Had anyone, in any realm, ever been faced with their own soul like this before? Hux stared in awe at the brilliant colors alight within it. He could feel the glow of its colors on his face. It was different than the others. It swirled with more force, and the bursts of energy and matter were more powerful, as if they’d pushed off the sluggishness after waking from a long winter. It was brighter as well. Its core burned stronger than anything around it, strong enough that Hux could almost feel heat radiating off of it.

“Kylo...” Hux started. Watching the power held within his soul, there was something that he couldn’t help but wonder. “If what you said is true, if everything really is fading... then why is my star the brightest?”

A much more familiar expression returned to Kylo’s face as one corner of his mouth quirked up in a grin.

“It’s a recent change,” he said. “Today, in fact. Your star is more lively now that it has the chaos it needs.” Kylo squeezed Hux’s hand tighter with those words. “I told you that there was a reason why you are drawn to me.”

Hux could not help but laugh as he realized that Kylo was implying that he himself was the force of chaos that Hux needed to right the apparent imbalance. Perhaps Hux could believe it. Kylo had already proven himself unpredictable, and disobedient to Hux’s commands, and unforgivably poor mannered. He was so different than the careful order Hux arranged in his own life, and Hux found it entirely fascinating.

Kylo drew Hux nearer. “Regardless of the laws you create, you’re meant to lead this realm. Your fate is entwined with it. And if you’ll have me with you...” Kylo motioned to Hux’s star again. Its movements where growing more powerful now with the chaotic force that Hux had somehow accepted into his life, a force that could apparently rejuvenate what had already drained from the forest.

Hux laughed again. He was not sure what he was laughing at. It was utterly ridiculous, all of it, and laughing in disbelief was the only thing that Hux was able to do in the moment.

Thinking he was being mocked, Kylo quickly grew embarrassed. The glow of the star on his face turned his flushed cheeks a very odd color.

“I know I’m only an apprentice now. But I’m powerful, and growing stronger every day!” Kylo insisted. “I can do it. I can be worthy of being at your side, if you’ll let me.”

It only made Hux laugh again. Kylo’s expression was rapidly shifting into a scowl. Quieting himself, Hux tugged Kylo closer and took Kylo’s other hand in his own as well.

“Kylo...” he said, making no effort to mask his amusement. “Correct me if I’ve misunderstood your purpose in showing me all of this, but you’ve taken me up into the stars, to my very soul... just to say that _yes,_ you will stay with me in the Woodland Realm?”

The scowl faded, and Kylo’s mouth quirked up into a crooked grin.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, and thank you again to [@kyloknightofhux](https://kyloknightofhux.tumblr.com/) for creating the prompt and amazing artwork for this story!


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